Hey All - Long-time Volvo driver, first-time forum user. I have a 1990 745T. I've driven it very hard since about '97-'98. The odometer stopped working at about 12 midnight on a very cold and snowy night just East of Albert Lea Minnesota. I was T-boned by a full size doe while the cruise-control was pegged on 70 mph. I should have died. Really.
I was in Sheridan, WY the next night in the middle of snow storm that followed me from the NE.
The best part about this car is I can sleep in the back on these long treks. I still had to cross two mountain ranges in the same storm to get to the PNWest. I've done this so many times with that car plus I pull a construction trailer and reno houses with it. It's got a bad water pump and needs a heater core.
I just bought a 1995 960 wagon. I feel like I made an impulse buy that I shouldn't have. It's too high-end and expensive - I think?
Two weeks after I bought it, The floor of the driver's cab filled up with new green coolant I added when the radiator light went on and the level was low. The same thing that happened to the 745T.
Guessing that the heater core's bad I bought a copper connector and looped the inlet and outlet at the fire-wall. The car never over-heated and still drives like a dream. The control-valve on one of the hoses I just mentioned has a dry white crust on it like it's leaking coolant. When I bought the car the top of the engine had been detailed - maybe power-washed. I don't want to replace the heater core until I've eliminated any other possible reasons for the wet driver cab. I'm still losing a bit of coolant and I'm starting to get white smoke from the exhaust. Did the guy blowout the caulk around the firewall penetrations while power-washing and the control valve is spraying coolant ? It's also been raining like crazy since I bought the car and I'm doing long highway drives everyday.
I need some help and a possibly a good shop to do a heater core in Vancouver, WA or Portland, OR. The truth is, my longtime Volvo guy hates this car and refuses to work on it. Says they're poorly designed and are expensive to work on. I should add that I'm not rolling in cash.
Maybe I'll fix the 960 and resurrect and fix my 745T. I'd love to get a 1998 FWD V70 wagon or maybe an 850 wagon.
Thanks

 

If you have an inside coolant leak, you have a leaky heater core.
In Portland, Alamo is the best and not too pricey, 69th and Glisan.